“Every single one of us is good at something. Some of us just give up on what that is before we even discover it. “

=

William Chapman

—- “I told her once i wasn’t good at anything.

She told me survival is a talent. You never need to apologize for how you chose to survive.”

=

Clementine von Radics

—

“To paraphrase someone smarter than me, who still knows nothing, the philosophical task of our age is for each of us to decide what it means to be a successful human being.

I don’t know the answer to that, but I would like to find out.”

=

Ottmer <the futurist>

—

Well. Let me begin by saying, well, being better is better.

Or better said: better is good.

In addition. Being good at something is good.

Those are two basic Life thoughts. Simple thoughts, but kind of important thoughts. Important because they are pervasive throughout civilization, culture, attitudes and certainly drives behavior.

Now. The most basic aspect of this whole thing of people wanting to be really good at something and, I imagine why people want to be passionate about something, is that they have experience with lack of passion. I say that last thought because <here is a Life truth> the reason why we’re not passionate about stuff we’re not really good at is because we aren’t <cannot be> passionate about stuff we suck at.

Here is where it gets a little screwy. Being good at something is a minefield mentally.

Huh? What do you mean <you ask me>??

How many times have you heard some version of the following phrases?

• “Everyone has a special skill!“

• “You just need to practice!“

• “You haven’t tried everything yet!“

• “You better work out what special skill you have and then use it for the rest of your life because if you don’t you’ll live in a dumpster fighting with cats for food!“

That trite advice is fine for people who are good at things, but what if you just suck at everything?

<or at least have sucked at everything you have tried to date>

Well. Here is the good news. It is next to impossible to suck at everything. It is much more likely that “… some of us just give up on what that is before we even discover it.”

As a corollary, in reality, it’s impossible to be good at every single thing you try.

Oh. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you suck. It’s all about perspective and how you define whether you’re good at something. For instance, are you basing how bad you are at something on your own standards or are you comparing yourself to others? If it’s the latter then you need to stop and remind yourself that we are all individuals. You’re not inferior or inept, you’re just different <kind of like snowflakes … okay … maybe not>.

Suffice it to say that insecurities and doubts limit your potential <regardless of whether you suck or are actually good> so if you intend to succeed at something you must first get rid of them.

Ah. But here is the curve ball Life throws at you <or is it a screwball??> — while you are figuring out what you are good at a whole shit load of incompetent assholes around you are trying to convince everyone what they are good at <of which they are actually not good at what they think they are>.

Incompetent people don’t know they are incompetent <in other words … they don’t think they suck>.

——

When asked, most individuals will describe themselves as better-than-average in areas such as leadership, social skills, written expression, or just about anything where the individual has an interest.

This tendency of the average person to believe he or she is better-than-average is known as the “above-average effect,” and it flies in the face of logic … by definition, descriptive statistics says that it is impossible absurdly improbable for a majority of people to be above average.

It follows, therefore, that a large number of the self-described “above average” individuals are in fact below average in those areas, and they are simply unaware of their incompetence.

——-

It seems that the reason for this phenomenon is obvious:

– The more incompetent someone is in a particular area, the less qualified that person is to assess anyone’s skill in that space, including their own.

– When one fails to recognize that he or she has performed poorly, the individual is left assuming that they have performed well.

Anyway. What this means is that the incompetent tend to grossly overestimate their skills and abilities.

—

“He felt he was himself and did not want to be otherwise. He only wanted to be better than he had been before. “

Leo Tolstoy

—

The Department of Psychology at Cornell University made an effort to determine just how profoundly one mistakenly overestimates one’s own skills in relation to one’s actual abilities.

They made the following predictions before the studies:

– Incompetent individuals, compared with their more competent peers, will dramatically overestimate their ability and performance relative to objective criteria.

– Incompetent individuals will suffer from deficient metacognitive skills, in that they will be less able than their more competent peers to recognize competence when they see it–be it their own or anyone else’s.

– Incompetent individuals will be less able than their more competent peers to gain insight into their true level of performance by means of social comparison information. In particular, because of their difficulty recognizing competence in others, incompetent individuals will be unable to use information about the choices and performances of others to form more accurate impressions of their own ability.

Rather than showcase the study and the results let me just say … they were correct in their assumptions.

Look. While I have spent a lot of time talking about incompetence and the incompetent, there is nothing more beautiful than watching competence in action. Especially if they are just good, not great, and have the awareness to build on their good in pursuit of … well … not great … but something better.

—-

“No one is good at everything, but everyone is good at something.”

any after school 1990’s special

—-

“Sucking is the first step to being sorta good at something”

Thorin Klosowski

—

And maybe that is why competence <or being good> is so beautiful to watch … it is the pursuit.

The pursuit? Being good at something mostly means you weren’t as good, or even sucked, at some point. This means the true competent people keep pushing.

Being good at something means no dumb questions, no dumb answers and no low <or stagnant> standards. And that is where I believe the whole concept of ‘being good at something’ should be grounded.

It’s not passion.

And, frankly, it may not even be something that comes easily to you.

It is more about holding yourself to some higher standard.

It is about the desire to keep pushing.

It is about being responsible for not quitting.

—-

“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you, never excuse yourself.”

Henry Ward Beecher

—–

In the end. Set aside ‘higher standards’ or ‘accepting you are good at something’ … in the end I respect … well … caring.

Giving a shit.

Or maybe call it … ‘nerdy as fuck about something.’

—-

“I respect people who get nerdy as fuck about something they love.”

Leah Raeder

——-

Caring enough about what you do is a good thing … and it makes you good at something.

It’s not passion.

It’s maybe not any real ability.

It’s just about the fact that you care.

By the way. Getting back to the first quote I used.

This also suggests, on those tough days and tough stretches in Life, simple survival is a talent because it means you care about Life.

Uhm. And that is a good thing to be good at.

Care about Life and never, never, apologize for how you choose to survive.

Today I discuss mandating standing for the national anthem <as President Donald J Trump appears to be advocating>.

While I will share my views and while I doubt Mr. Trump has ever looked at the Constitution or googled “Supreme Court decisions with regard to enforcing patriotic compulsory routines” I will share what the US Supreme Court HAS said about this:

===================

“To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous, instead of a compulsory routine, is to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free minds.”

——

US Supreme Court 1943

==============================

To be clear.

I stand for the national anthem.

I don’t burn flags.

I believe people should do the former and the latter.

That said.

I could give a shit if people stand, place their hand on their heart or sing along. It’s a ridiculous empty faux act of patriotism to simply do something because <a> you have to or <b> you do it because everyone else is doing it.

I respect the flag and the country but if you truly want to respect those who served, well, try not acting like an asshole to those who have served.

I respect the flag and the country but if you truly want to respect those who served, well, try conducting yourself in ways that make this country look like it’s less full of shitheads and more like a country whose military teaches dignity, honor & integrity.

I respect the flag and the country but if you truly want to respect those who served, well, try and act like we are not at war or our freedom is under attack from some outside enemy and recognize that the only attack we are under are from dickheads like Trump who claim to value freedom and independence but espouse conformity & hollow patriotism.

Beyond all of that, and whatever constitutional freedom of speech stuff you want to attach to this discussion, there is an additional fairly basic business management aspect – building an organizational culture is never about enforced conformity.

===========================

“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”

―

John F. Kennedy

=============

“The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it’s conformity.”

―

Rollo May

================================

Yeah.

I admit.

I hate codes of conduct <in general>.

I have never been a fan of conformity in general … and absolutely hate forced conformity.

I hate dress codes.

I hate office rules.

I hate meeting rules.

Yeah.

I say that tied to the thought of how some people are discussing creating laws, or establishing rules, for standing for the national anthem.

I say that because this entire discussion isn’t just about being patriotic, and being a ‘patriot’… but enforcing conformity or specific behavior.

We try and do that shit in business all the time.

Well.

Leaders who do not understand how to build a strong self-sustaining organizational culture try this shit all the time.

To be clear.

90% of the time, enforced behavior, fails miserably.

What do I mean>?

90% of the time the desired behavior, which you have always forced & enforced, stops when you stop looking and stop enforcing.

At the core of ‘enforced’ is that it isn’t something people want to do, or maybe it isn’t something they naturally inherently do, and they do it because they have to do it.

At the core of ‘enforced’ is failure. People, in general, don’t like to be told to be honest, do things certain way and how to think. Trying to enforce organizational attitudes & behaviors works just as well as forced changes of behavior in personal Life <diets, quitting smoking, chewing on your fingernails, etc> — it does not work

By the way.

Here is the other weird thing about ‘enforced conformity.’

Failure even happens with the shit that <a> people really don’t mind doing and <b> people kind of know is the right thing to do.

It’s just that people do not like to be forced to do things … even things they kind of want to do anyway.

—————————-

Seek to impose your will, and more men will kneel (if they’re permitted), and when they rise, it will be with resentment in their hearts.

Embrace liberty, and more men will rise, and they’ll do so with joy.

I want those players to stand.

I want to see their hands over their hearts.

But I want to see that happen out of love, not fear, and so long as the fear remains, a decision to stand means nothing but an empty victory in a culture war that will tear this nation apart. ———————————

Look.

We would love it in business if everyone did what you wanted them to do.

We would love it if everyone in a society did things the way they were supposed to do.

But you cannot enforce conformity and, in fact, just as the Supreme Court suggested with the national anthem in 1943 … you really do not want to force behavior. You want behavior to come from within the individual and not enforced from ‘without.’

Oh.

This is where the role of “social norms” can come into play.

Different from enforcement, that promotes top-down direction, administration and monitoring, encouraging social norms can spur, and inspire … uhm … conformity.

It is conformity by choice.

It is having the freedom to conform … and choosing to do so.

This is a powerful conformity.

Anyway.

The Supreme Court got it right back in 1943 when a small group of Jehovah’s Witnesses declined to salute the flag. They were patriots but their beliefs wouldn’t allow them to demonstrate reverence for a flag <a symbol>. The Supreme Court rendered its verdict — with words that should be etched into the minds of anyone who truly cares about who and what America is:

If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.

Those are the most famous words of Supreme Court case West Virginia v. Barnette, but it is these words which any true patriot, or leader, should ponder:

–—————

Nevertheless, we apply the limitations of the Constitution with no fear that freedom to be intellectually and spiritually diverse or even contrary will disintegrate the social organization. To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous, instead of a compulsory routine, is to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free minds.

——————-

In other words, the power of the symbolism & patriotism lies with the choice to honor & dignify the symbolism of a fag & an anthem.

In other words, compelled patriotism … the effort to force a person to say or do what they do not believe … doesn’t touch upon the true spirit of what the country stands for.

In other words, if I have to compel someone to be patriotic, or do acts which imply patriotism, the American Idea isn’t working.

In other words, mandatory patriotism isn’t patriotism at all.

In other words, the government cannot force someone to violate their conscience and they shouldn’t bully private businesses into doing what a government cannot legally dictate.

I will say this over and over and over again until the day I die — the cure for bad speech is better speech, the cure for bad behavior is better behavior and the cure for dealing with any ‘the American ideal (and idea)’ doubts is not bad enforced conformity.

We should inform, educate, and recommend policies, ideas & behavior that improve America but allow its citizens their freedom of choice.

For the best compliance, don’t just enforce the rules, establish the norms.

Yeah.

I am sure some NFL owners will attempt some behavior-shaping constraints <fines, suspensions, etc.>. And they have that right as a business owner managing their own business & culture.

But I will tell them a secret <and I am hoping President Trump, who has never managed a business which demanded building a culture, is listening in> … that will not shape behavior but it will certainly shape attitudes <unfortunately, most likely not the attitudes truly desired>.

Forcing functional behavior is not always the best approach to shaping behavior.

Here is what any business leader who has ever run a business knows:

It takes your own to govern your own.

Not rules of conduct.

Not enforced conformity.

Lastly.

Just to conclude this piece.

Trump the asshat.

He has no fucking clue how to build a company culture. To him culture is having all the women wear their hair the same way, everyone wear a certain type of clothes that appeal to him and wear name tags with the Trump brand on it.

How do I know he has no clue how to build a culture without ‘enforcing conformity’?

The one people skill he has exhibited to date – it seems like Trump has this unique capability of bringing out the worst of people on actually the best of things.

Huh?

By using patriotism and pride in country <good> he encourages … well … wrong thinking, wrong thoughts and wrong behavior.

What he has done is bring out the worst in people who actually believe in a good thing.

What an asshat.

I would remind President Asshat what every god business leader knows about their employees and their culture … both good and evil lies within the hearts of most men (Alexander Solzhenitsyn) .

Most of us have the capacity to do great and good things … uhm … do very bad and evil things.

Leaders have a choice.

Either bring the best of the good out of people or bring the worst of the bad out of people.

You cannot bring out ‘good’ from within through some type of enforcement nor should you be seeking to try to ‘conform’ good.

Good has to be encouraged, not enforced <someone should print that off and put it on Trump’s mirror so he can see it every morning>.

If I were to look at this map I would believe the majority of the country, overwhelmingly, was conservative <or Republican>. That is false.

If I were to look at this map I would believe the majority of people, overwhelmingly, was conservative <or Republican>. That is false.

If I were to look at this map I would believe the majority of counties were, overwhelmingly, conservative <or Republican>. That is false.

Shit.

If I were to look at this map I would believe this was representative of all of America. That is false <only about 60% of voter eligible people actually voted>.

Ok.

I am not a data wonk nor do I give a rat’s ass about politics and who is conservative and who is liberal.

All I care about is truth and good ideas which benefit the majority.

So what would be better than this incredibly misleading asshat of an image?

I would imagine if I were to ‘dot map’ the country coded by zip codes I would most likely get a better sense for how even in some rural areas liberals lived side by side with conservatives, in urban areas there were neighborhoods of conservatives buried amongst the wackjob liberal and that zip codes reflect a mixed bag of people who think different thoughts and desire a varied list of things <and have a variety of legitimate issues>.

And then I would imagine if I tinted my colors by % split between Republican & Democrat we would find that it is very rare for some county <which may be coded in the above image as “red”> to be 100% ‘red’ but rather anywhere between 51% red to 80% red.

And how about if I figured out some color coding to show the % split between Independent & Republican & Democrat …. & non voters … well … I imagine we would find that zip code by zip code, maybe even county by county … all the colors are a shitload less bright and a helluva lot more lighter.

Yeah. This kind of shit is important.

Doesn’t it matter to anyone thinking about this if I have a 1,000 person county that voted 95% Trump and a 100,000 person county that voted 39% Trump <but he still won the county? <answer: yes>

And then I would imagine that if I even went down into a household zip cluster we would find that there is a mixed bag of people even living in the same neighborhoods let alone a house.

But, no, some hack wanted to make some point and shoveled this shit image round for people to gobble up and spew out platitudes of mandates and elitism voting and working class bullshit.

This map is shit. If only the world were this simple. But it is not.

Now.

I admit.

In my past business life I have not been above not only using selective information to make a point nor am I not guilty of creating an image to showcase a vivid metaphor for the point.

However.

It doesn’t take you long in business to recognize that decisions are made based off of some simplistic net conclusions. And if you are not careful you could … well … present an image like the one I opened this piece with and make some really important overarching conclusions and, ultimately, some fairly important decisions are made.

Here is what I know about that.

In the business world people get fired for presenting shit like this and misleading people to make some misguided decisions. I know for sure I would get fired if I tried this crap.

Regardless.

Disingenuous use of information is what hacks do. They don’t know any better.

Purposeful disingenuous use of information is what assholes do. They know better.

And maybe this is where I get grumpy with people like FoxNews. In general I think they have some really smart journalists … particularly in the day time when it is more journalism rather than opinion. That said. I think they, as do all major news outlets, have a responsibility to their audience to not only say what people want to hear but to also nuance it with some perspective so people don’t walk away with a misguided simplistic thought.

Their responsibility lies in exactly the same responsibility I, as a business presenter, has … managing the net conclusion <because inevitably I know someone is going to make some decision based off of that>.

And, yeah, the burden of responsibility does vary depending on the entity & person. While I do believe everyone has the responsibility to use information properly, factually not selectively, and portray it in a way that makes your point in a non-disingenuous way … your burden increases or decreases depending upon who is dependent upon your information.

Someone like FoxNews knows they have a diehard conservative viewership therefore their burden to enlighten is higher than say someone who has a mixed viewership like an ABC, CBS or NBC.

Worse than maybe Fox? Republican Politicians. They are chosen to be honest representors of truth so that we, the people, can be better informed and more enlightened as to real issues rather than ‘false flag’ issues <which permits us to better evaluate what is being done and what is important and what are the real issues>.

<note: to be clear … I could choose a different topic and make the same point about Democrat politicians and their lack of responsibility on that topic>

Here is what I know.

Hacks play to their audiences’ worst devils and play to existing perceptions & attitudes.

It is the cheap way to use good information <and cheapens not only the information but cheapens the truth>.

It is the lazy way to present.

And it is admitting no personal responsibility for portraying the real & total truth.

Sigh.

As for this stupid map and stupid <but somewhat important> information.

Would I use an image showing voting districts? Sure.

But only internally.

If my job was to elect someone and therefore I had to figure out where and how to spend my money, I would use it.

But everyone should be clear that voting districts have been bastardized to maximize their party voting base so much that voting districts are meaningless to anyone outside of those who are looking to get someone elected. They misrepresent general takeaways.

I say that because I think it is not only disingenuous but also misleading to people by showing shit like this in a mainstream way. People who know better should be better than this. Its crap like this that not only divides people even more but encourages further discussion on elitism versus ‘working people’ when the truth is significantly more nuanced than that.

Using images like this only hurts the discourse and increases the sense of divide between the haves & the have nots, the intellectuals versus the manual labor and the city folk versus regular folk.

Look.

Set the maps aside.

A shitload of ‘elitist’ rich people voted for Trump.

A shitload of ‘creative artsy types’ voted for Trump.

A shitload of smart blue collar hard working people voted for Clinton.

A shitload of smart hard working ‘intellectual’ people <who poorly articulated their thoughts> voted for Clinton.

A shitload of rural/suburban people voted for Trump and a shitload of urban/suburban people voted for Clinton.

I have written far too much and far too often on the real issues behind the most recent election in frustration over the simplistic bullshit people throw out as for ‘why Trump won’ and ‘how Trump won.’

If I were to reference one thing I have written for people to think about it would be ‘the death of the malls’ which, to me, reflects the complexity and nuances of what hollowed out non-urban America and created some attitudes which

………. searching for water ……

governing officials have ignored <and Trump hasn’t acknowledge either … but a camel dying of thirst will drink any water … even poisoned>.

That said.

It is using information improperly in images like this that actually convince some of us everyday camels we are actually dying of thirst … when we are not <that is a warning to citizens and politicians>.

It is using information improperly like this that actually convinces some of us to make some fairly important misguided decisions <that is a warning to business people>.

It isn’t scientists’ role to package facts and theory for the general public, let alone the most willfully ignorant.

Response commenter:

Surely scientists have some responsibility to make their findings understandable to the public?

Otherwise how do their findings get incorporated into policy?

====================

So.

With so much discussion going on about “the working class” it may become easy to ignore the implicit backlash against ‘intellectualism’ or ‘the out-of-touch elite.’

I do not believe there is an anti-intellectualism crisis.

I do not believe we have reached an era where any influencers who are smart, or intellectual, are dismissed as the reigning voices of truth & expertise.

But.

I do know that elites, or so-called elites, are despised and the opinions of experts are disregarded in favor of emotions or gut feelings, i.e., feelings are as important, if not more important, than facts.

And I do know that Michael Gove said “people have had enough of experts.”

Whew.

Not only is that a bullshit quote … it is a scary thought.

I could walk into a crowded blue collar bar and after some discussion I could be construed as ‘thinker not doer’ … despite the fact I have over 30 years of doing practical experience.

And therein lies the issue.

Depending on how you articulate your experience you can sound intellectually elitist <too smart for your own good> or you can sound pragmatically hard working. And within those two bookends is a fairly wide spectrum.

There has become a blurring of … well … everything actually … but in this case … true experience & expertise and ‘elitism.’

This is creating a horrible thing in society and our culture. If you have gobs of experience you are labeled as out of touch with the everyday schmuck.

If you are an everyday schmuck you are immediately labeled as anti-intellectual and, far too often, less educated.

This is a horrible situation for everyone <because no one wins>.

Simplistically … education and experience are two different things. I can certainly but it shouldn’t diminish experience wisdom <and vice versa>.

And that is where the whole communication and communicating aspect comes into play.

For if neither side can clearly communicate their value then … well … everyone assumes the worst.

It would be far too easy for me to suggest that if someone has the experience, and the wisdom that comes with it, they should be able to articulate it and communicate it in a way that anyone would not feel condescended to or diminished or simply out-of-touch with either hard working or ‘thinker’.

And it gets even more challenging when both sides have a pair of perception filtered glasses on as they view the opposite they are seeking to communicate with.

My prime example is easy … climate change.

The simple fact is that climate activists cannot sell their story effectively – they fall back on … well … facts and numbers. This is deemed as ‘arrogance’ because they get frustrated you don’t see the truth in the numbers and you are deemed ‘ignorant’ as you get frustrated because you aren’t a scientist and don’t want to extrapolate numbers … you just want a simple truthful story.

Even non-science people recognize that cherry-picked statistics and trends & projections are not the same as long-term accurate predictions and effects. But if the case is so strong it must be possible to bring it forth in a compelling way combined with compelling measures to address it.

That said.

The most egregious act with regard to elitism versus experience actually takes place when people smart enough to know … undermine other people smart enough to know … within the leadership we seek to take our cues from <or let’s label them what the everyday schmuck would call ‘the ruling intellectual elite’>.

They sacrifice acceptance of the value of their ‘competitor’ for undermining the value. And in doing so they undermine everyone’s value. Some would suggest this is ‘not seeing the forest for the trees.’

I would suggest this is actually a doom loop. If every day people have no one to trust with regard to their experience they become anxious. And, then, in this state of anxiety, many of those same people no longer trust the experts <let alone anyone attempting to lead by thought leadership>.

If you cannot trust experience it all falls apart. Because then gaining experience just doesn’t matter <or specific experience doesn’t matter>.

In addition … it seems to foster an environment in which individual thinking is discouraged, the value of scientific/researched fact is diminished and, contrary to belief, the power shifts to some authority figure who leads through opinion rather than fact <and people follow off of ‘feelings’ rather than truth>.

That said … all things being equal, it means this issue comes down to its most basic level <which actually creates a real divide in ‘us versus them’>.

Here is where the biggest gap in skills & experience exists.

Survival skills.

Survival in corporate America is significantly different than survival in … well … survival.

If all of urban/suburban America lost their microwaves and fast food restaurants … well … they would be screwed.

Sure.

Most people know how to light a fire <with a match>, wash underwear and make soup but that basic skill set is not even close to the survival skills of the majority of the world let alone rural America.

We are shortchanging our ability to shape events by having each side believe they are the only ones capable of shaping the events.

We are shortchanging the people who are much more confident in the assessments of what to do and when to do it.

We are shortchanging the people who understand that in any situation and in any choice there are winners and losers and just because you may have lost doesn’t make you a loser.

And, of course, we shortchange the people who don’t have the experience to lead by undervaluing the experience that they do have … and what they have to offer in terms of thinking & ideas.

We don’t know what we don’t know.

And in those words of wisdom resides our biggest challenge with regard to this crisis of elitism versus experience … we need to figure out how to better articulate expertism and experience … because if we do not … the inexperienced will seek to take on the responsibilities of the experienced … and we will be doomed to fail.

=============

“The pen may indeed be mightier than the sword, but the wordsmith would do well to welcome the blacksmith back into the fold, so that artisan craftsmanship the world over may fend off the ravages of industrialised homogeneity and bland monoculture.”

Or maybe even just simply not being oblivious to what is happening around you.

Pick any of those.

Life is always a balancing act of so many things your head can explode if you ever overthink them all … but … throughout it all you are walking the tightrope of ‘caring.’ As in “I care” <about whatever>.

“Step with care and great tact, and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.”

Dr. Seuss

I scan the writings on the worldwide web <yes … it is officially world wide now> and, particularly among young people, there is a scarily flippant thought that if you don’t care you have less opportunity to be hurt.

Or to be disappointed.

Whew.

Ok.

I know Life doesn’t come with a ‘how to’ book of how to live Life … or even written rules on how to do things.

But that doesn’t mean you are absolved from doing things. And I don’t mean ‘ambition’ or ‘initiative’ or things like that.

I mean I believe we have certain duties in Life.

Now.

To be clear … I am not talking about ‘campaigning community for change’ or starting or participating in some petition … this is simply about paying attention to the shit around you.

This is about looking around at some of the things that may not be directly affecting you.

This is about things that do not directly affect you … but they matter.

This is about the fact that you maybe … just maybe … should care.

Oh.

And this isn’t some theoretical bullshit. Because ‘theoretically’ we should all care … but ‘realetically’ <I just made that word up> life is ultimately made up of reality and the realities of what is happening … in other words … when and where shit happens.

Therefore … the reality of it is you should care <at least to some extent> in an actionable way.

Not just … ‘boy … I wish I would actually do something’ way.

“Life is not theory. It is reality, with inherent duties to everything and everyone.”

Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka

It is interesting because even the theoretical takes shape in some realities in Life.

Oddly <as in one of those quirky pragmatic Life contradictions> … there is a reality relationship between caring and dreams. I imagine the link is … uh oh … risk.

Yup.

Risk is actually associated with caring.

Try this.

Here is a Life formula: caring is to risk as risk is to dreams <or aspirations if you want to call it that>.

If you care you will actually <almost forced to> take some risks in life … then you can actually be better. Better leads to getting better things. And better things are things you are actually hoping for <and they do not have to be tangible things like ‘cool shoes’ or shit like that>.

Ok.

So you may not care about that … you just don’t want to be better … or to have something better.

But here is the other thing.

Whether you care or not … someone else does … and someone else has some dreams.

You may not give a fuck about someone else’s dreams but unfortunately … whether you like it or not … your lifeline continuously gets tangled or intertwined with pretty much everyone you have some contact with … and even some you don’t through things you have done or not done and left behind for someone to pass through.

Bottom line.

By you not caring about Life means … well … you will miss moments.

More importantly.

You could miss the ‘one moment.’

The one moment where you make a difference … for yourself or for someone else.

“Sometimes I wonder if life is all about one moment. Everything before and everything after is about that one moment, and we are all stuck there.”

Suzanne LaFleur

And that takes me back to duties … responsibilities in Life.

You have a duty to not purposefully fuck up other people’s lives.

Go right ahead and fuck up your own if you choose to … but you do not have a right to fuck up someone else’s.

Directly <as in you take action> or indirectly <as in ‘I don’t care’ and are oblivious>.

You do not have a duty in Life to care about yourself. That is a personal choice and while it seems silly to not care … personal choice is personal choice and free will is free will. Be indifferent to yourself and your Life if you want.

But you do have a duty to others.

Uhm.

If you didn’t … well … isn’t that kind of the most basic moral foundation of a civilized world?

And please … PLEASE … please don’t anyone write me that ‘the world is in chaos and we have lost our way.’

That’s bullshit <at least in reference to this topic>.

Armageddon could be upon us <it isn’t> and everyone would still have the respect and care for others muscle within them.

It is inherent within each & every one of us <with very very few exceptions>.

Now.

I fully understand the challenge with caring … caring takes energy.

It is an unfortunate thing about caring … while intangible … it has weight … it tends to drag you down … lower and lower … until that ‘one moment’ appears and it injects some helium into you and you rise again.

Yikes.

So what if you never get one of those ‘one moments’?

Ah.

That is why people say I don’t care.

They worry they will never find or see one of ‘those moments.’

Or maybe it has been so long in the trench they cannot even fathom there could be a pinnacle to not only see … but climb.

And they float on the surface of a meaningless depthless Life.

And you know what?

If you cannot come up with any good reason to care … read this … because when I saw it … well … I imagine I can’t really think of another reason why you should look around your life … outside of what you are doing and what you think you NEED to do … and … well … read it:

“Always give a shit about people. Listen to them, understand them, help them, and cherish them. Do this because you never really know when you’re going to want someone to give a shit about you.”

Bharat Nair, Student, Aspiring Comic Book Writer, Wants to turn out as someone his Mother can be proud of.

I love it.

I love it because even if someone says they don’t care … they do.

They do in that … well … somewhere deep inside them … they want someone to give a shit about them.

Anyway.

Je m’en fiche.

“I don’t care.’

As adults we have a duty to care. To give a shit. Because if we don’t … well … it will all go to shit.

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” – Isaac Asimov

<written in 1960’s>

“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.” – Albert Einstein.

Note: Einstein’s comment was aimed at those who relied solely on common sense as an argument <I would imagine because many of his theories are decidedly not common sense>.

So … this is about Ignorance.

Well. I will be the first to admit that not many things truly scare me.

Ignorance, itself, doesn’t really scare me.

Frustrate me? Absolutely.

Scare me? Nope.

I won’t let it because I have to believe the rational will always inevitably beat the irrational. If I didn’t believe this … well … I guess I would go mad.

Now.

What does scare me is Ignorance <or the ignorant> can often take on the characteristics of a cult. As bands of ignorant opinions gather together and create small tight knit tribes of aggressive insulated close minded citizens of a larger population.

And, yes, that is when I become scared.

Cults are tight knit groups difficult to dissemble … and can become quite powerful ideologically if they either have enough mass <even being a minority> or if they have a large enough pulpit <or megaphone>.

When Ignorance reaches this point becomes very very scary.

Especially if it is ‘purposeful ignorance’ or what I would suggest we call ‘combative ignorance’ in which someone simply digs in on a contrarian belief despite all the information stating to the contrary.

I sometimes scratch my head on this issue because it seems slightly odd because one would tend to think the combination of technology <the web> and a general underlying human thirst for understanding ‘more’ would converge providing people with an unprecedented access to gobs of information <and real data points – facts> of what we know now … as well as historical. And in this convergence we may not actually find answers but would certainly become intellectually stronger in discerning fiction from fact.

Realistically most of the work has been done for us … all you really need to do is analyze information objectively and knowledge is available at your fingertips.

Unfortunately I do not see this wave happening.

It’s odd because I see another wave overcoming us … a wave where it seems that a world of facts is being replaced by feelings and a disturbing seemingly free floating certainty.

And this is why I believe the ignorance is almost cultlike.

If the world is driven solely by feelings <and I do not mean emotions but rather ‘opinions’> than people will gravitate toward other people with the same feelings and cocoon themselves in some false certainty of ‘that which we believe is as certain as any fact.’

“I think” becomes “I know.”

That , my friends, is a cult.

How the hell does this happen?

I imagine the real issue behind ignorance is … well … a natural irrationality.

We humans like to think of ourselves as a smart thoughtful intuitive group.

In general … we are not.

One psychologist did a study in which it describes how people are fairly good at predicting the outcome of elections based solely on photographs of the candidates.

This suggests even if we research and understand a person’s beliefs and policies, part of our end behavior falls back on some subconscious instinctual ‘gut feeling’ based on appearance. ‘If they look the part they must be able to do their part’ type thinking.

Hmmmmmmmmmm …. I would suggest that in many cases this is not an entirely rational decision making process.

How about this?

Another study.

Think you can change a friend’s mind about an important issue? Think again.

They call this the backfire effect.

Simply mentioning facts that another person won’t like will cause that person to harden their position. It is called ‘doubling down’ on an opinion despite facts.

By the way … I have gobs of examples.

One of the most prevalent topics being discussed <and trust me … I could have selected a dozen or so> is global climate change.

Yikes.

<insert a double yikes here>

I am not an environmental nut. I am clearly in the skeptical category … yet … clearly in the ‘why wouldn’t I do what’s right for the betterment of the place I live’ category.

Frankly … I probably didn’t need any climate change rhetoric to agree to that but nonetheless … the global climate is changing <that is unequivocal fact> … I assume humans have some role <that is also a fact> … the degree to which humans have a role has been defined <99% of experts agree> and yet … there is a fringe group of people simply trying to mislead people into believing climate change is the figment of someone’s imagination.

And the fringe ignorant is sly.

They make statements within the guise of expertology <I made that word up>. They take slivers of existing research out of context and make the sliver seem as if it represents a whole tree if not the whole frickin’ forest. And then they shout it at the top of their lungs and say it over and over and … well … over.

Until it almost becomes truth.

Oh.

And they often couch this expertology within expert sounding groups:

The Heartland Institute is a fossil fuel-funded think tank that gained notoriety in May 2012 for launching an ad campaign comparing those who agree that humans are causing global warming (that’s 97+% of climate scientists and the majority of the rest of us) to the Unabomber and Osama bin Laden.

Look.

I am not going to debate climate change with anyone … just skip to the linked article which does a nice job of highlighting the lack of doubt and the general consensus that we humans are contributing to climate change:

The point behind this example is that there is an almost cultish attitude with regard to actually fostering ignorance. And they do so using slivers of information to seed doubt.

They double down on a relatively absurd position.

Denial versus simply … well … who cares what climate change is called?

Blame nature <primarily> … blame people <minorly> or blame whatever.

Anyone’s research and data <even denialists> will tell you climate change appears to have sped-up during and since the Industrial age.

Pick any reason you want.

Semantics will not improve matters regarding the detrimental effects predicted.

It seems a little crazy … at least in my pealike brain … that the most intelligent species on the planet <that is us humans by the way> would actually sit on our intellectual asses have some meaningless debates all the while simply doing a ‘wait and see’ while we could actually try to do something.

Anyway.

I began with the whole climate issue because it is a prime example of a small cult of ignorance working its web of ignorance to trap the majority. It is a prime example displaying how doubt can be spread in such a way that it impedes any progress <and in fact encourages investing energy where it could be invested elsewhere>.

And this it isn’t about debating <which I could accept if not even encourage if it were to better knowledge and the minds and thinking> but rather this is about semantics fostering ignorance.

Ok.

Climate change aside <because this rant isn’t really about that>.

I have some concerns, in general, about this strain of anti-intellectualism that Asimov suggests in the opening quote.

This general cult of ignorance which appears to be weaving its way into today’s world <and certainly in the good ole USofA>.

To be fair … maybe it isn’t really ignorance … maybe it is simple confusion <because it can get really really confusing discerning truth amongst the shouting>. Regardless … it is concerning.

Here is what concerns me … aggravates me … disappoints me.

Throughout society and the media it seems that ignorance is no longer a void to be filled but a virtue to be celebrated.

We seem to be celebrating aspects of ignorance under the guise of ‘selective truths.’ Celebrating ‘being open minded’ more than celebrating ‘being mindful.’

Yes. I understand what I just shared is a very very fine line.

But I imagine the real point is we seem to celebrate the cults who espouse ‘common sense’ as more meaningful than facts.

And not surprisingly these cults know what they do works.

Want another example?

PewResearch just did a follow up to their 2009 survey on ‘Do you “believe” in evolution?’

While the survey reveals that the answer aligns with basic conservative versus liberal – or ‘open to more risk’ – thinking which of course aligns with political loyalties < 67% of Democrats accept the validity of evolution in contrast with 43% of Republicans> that really isn’t the concerning output.

It’s the fact that the latter figure, the 43%, decreased from 54% over the past 5 years.

Uhm.

Yeah.

Our knowledge is actually devolving … or unraveling … through the actions of the cult of ignorance.

Ok. Moving on. Because I do not want to debate issues but rather simply discuss ignorance.

I believe recognizing your own ignorance is not something to be ashamed of … it is an opportunity to learn. Shit. I do it each and every day.

But there is a certain type of ignorance which is almost becoming a badge of some type of warped superiority over those who do have knowledge or expertise.

The cult sits around discussing topics with others sharing similar points of view which only leads to some intellectually lazy assumptions about the people making arguments that of a different perspective.

Simply put … it is much easier to sit around with friends discussing how stupid & naïve the other people are than actually discussing and thinking about the issue. Shit. People even sit around dismissing research & scientists as ‘kooks’ or ‘do not know what they are doing’ or saying things like ‘it is flawed.’ They state these things unequivocally despite the fact that if someone were to actually read an entire research study <instead of the soundbite that media latches on to> you would find that they are smart well thought out studies with facts and conclusions <the most famous of these is most likely the infamous ‘right brain-left brain myth’ … which the original researcher has spent a lifetime trying to get straight>.

So we have cults sitting around in their thinking cocoons and some semi-reputable sounding entities <and some really smart people on editorial media shows trying to drive ratings> creating as much distraction and doubt as they possibly can and where there’s the appearance of any doubt … politicians jump on board … and then?

Well.

We are off to the ignorant race.

How grim is this race? Well. I found this well written rant somewhere:

“However, I propose that we consider a more grim reality. Americans have become ignorant, complacent, and incompetent at virtually everything we do.

Before you throw out my theory as pessimistic rants, consider more deeply your workplace, the places you shop, and the things you see and hear everyday as you go through life. Evidence of our ignorance, complacency, and incompetence is all around us. We are so ignorant and complacent, in fact, that most of us do not even realize that we are wallowing in dysfunction.

Sure, the failings of borrowers and lenders are at the heart of the financial collapse that just took place, but a more insidious disease has enveloped society as a whole. Most of us are too dumb to know what is going on around us, we are too lazy to do much of anything that does not bring instant gratification, and we stink at what we do for a living. Fortunately, since these qualities are shared by our bosses, peers, friends, and family, we can all get along well enough and avoid feeling like a bunch of bumbling idiots.

Well.

That was harsh.

And I don’t agree with the depth of the semi-rant <albeit it is a fun disturbing read>. I do not believe we are incompetent, nor complacent, nor dumb.

But I do agree that there is a thread of purposeful ignorance … maybe simply call it lazy ignorance … woven seamlessly into today’s society <uhm … society … that would be us … we the people>.

In my eyes it almost seems like there is confusion between intellectual hypotheses and real intelligence.

While the depth of ignorance scares me at it’s root, it’s foundation, it is actually easy to see how it happens:

“… if falsehood, like truth, had only one face we would be in better shape. For we would be as certain the opposite what the liar said. But the reverse of truth has a hundred thousand shapes and a limitless field. “- Montaigne

Anti-intellectualism or this purposeful ignorance can take on a hundred thousand shapes <maybe an endless number> versus truth.

Whereas truth has one and only one face and shape.

In a world where quantity often overshadows quality … many people tend to begin to think all the quasi-intellectual theories being shouted inevitably takes shape as overwhelming evidence of truth … and the inevitable opposite … that something that is actually true is not true.

This is simply the many faces of falsehoods coalescing into some absurdly limitless shaped field facing the one truth. Truth gets smothered by a dazzling array of doubts <garbed in common sense or slivers of fictional fiction>.

And sometimes this anti-intellectualism often challenges real knowledge under the guise of ‘simplicity.’

Like ‘if this is true … then the entire thing must not be true.’

Shit.

Truth is not like a house of cards in which if you pull out one card the entire house falls.

If I have 52 cards that say one thing and the other card shown is a joker I tend to believe the 52 cards. The house remains as it is.

Regardless.

This all becomes more challenging because we live in a world where it is quite possible for someone of average or below average intelligence to still place a high value on knowledge, education, and intellectual pursuits.

In other words … I don’t have to be Einstein to appreciate that studying hard and becoming as well-educated as possible gives children more opportunity and that smart people deserve respect.

Likewise, it is entirely possible to be of above-average intelligence and still be anti-intellectual.

However.

I do believe there is a link between anti intellectualism and intelligence.

Because if someone cannot understand something they revert back only to what they can understand … and fear that which they don’t understand.

I hesitate to throw IQ into this discussion but it is a proven fact that most people, as in over 50%, simply aren’t intelligent enough to grasp a substantial portion of science.

This isn’t elitist.

It cannot be.

Because it is me. I am the enemy and I can see myself.

I am not intelligent enough to grasp a substantial portion of science.

Shit.

I m not intelligent enough to grasp many things.

While we can debate the complete accuracy of IQ measurements the one thing that even the most vehement detractors can’t deny is that it provides a highly accurate overall predictor of one’s ability to grasp difficult concepts.

For example, if one were to place bets that an individual with an 80 IQ will never, ever be able to calculate the velocity of an object through space given a certain gravity and distance traveled would become a very rich person indeed if they could find someone to take the bet.

If we jump just a few points ahead, to 100 IQ, the limitations are not as extreme. However, they’re still significant. You won’t find any quantum physicists with a 100 IQ and you’d be very hard pressed to find a college graduate in the sciences with a 100 IQ.

Now. Science is interesting as I rant about ignorance.

Because inevitably you have to throw into the mix the fact science is by its very nature a constant reshaping of “truth” into ever more accurate models.

Because, like it or not, science reserves the right to change its mind <and I am using science as a metaphor for almost all things>.

In almost all things we give the best estimate of an answer given current knowledge. And we reserve the right to change or modify that answer if more information is found.

Even worse?

The new information is often very difficult to grasp even for experts in the field.

Regardless.

Couple points to make.

IQ does matter.

Which means those who do have the ability have a RESPONSIBILITY to use it properly.

And for all of us <iq aside>.

“It is wonderful how such celebrated opinions are born of such vain beginnings and trivial causes. It is precisely that which makes it hard to inquire into them: for while we are looking for powerful causes and weighty ends worthy of such great fame we lose the real ones: they are so tiny that they escape our view. And indeed for such investigations we need a very wise, diligent and subtle investigator, who is neither partial nor prejudiced.

Many of this world’s abuses are engendered – or to put it more rashly, all of this world’s abuses are engendered – by our being schooled to fear to admit our ignorance and because we are required to accept anything which we cannot refute. Everything is proclaimed by injunction and assertion.” – Montaigne

Montaigne said this in the 1700’s and yet the point is that this ignorance still matters. I imagine I can find some solace in the fact he recognized the battle with cults of ignorance even then. But the battle is in the here and now.

A relatively recent Newsweek report stated that “the world is becoming more and more inhospitable to incurious know-nothings — like us.”

For quite some time Americans, in particular, have gotten away with not knowing much about the world <I have gobs of research to support how un-knowledgeable we tend to be with regard to geography, history, economics and government>.

That’s not going to work in the future.

The information economy demands brains instead.

Its kind of interesting because there is a relationship between knowledge and politics <which also scares me>.

“The issue isn’t that people in the past knew a lot more and know less now. It’s that their ignorance was counterbalanced by denser political organizations.” – Jacob Hacker

Overall ignorance has consequences.

An uninformed population is more easily fooled <or driven into selective information cults> leading to less working understanding of current events with significant power to drive events at exactly the same time.

The cult of ignorance can only be challenged by people assuming some responsibility to learn more. I would argue it is an obligation to civilization but that sounds too high handed. So lets suggest it is simply a responsibility to who we are and the world, and country, we live in.

“When you live in a democracy, there are very few good excuses for not having minimal knowledge about what is going on in the world. How much newspaper reading would it have taken to realize that between 1992 and 1996 the deficit decreased? Or to realize that Saddam did not have a hand in 9/11? Now ask yourself how much time the average American spends watching mediocre television. People can choose to be ignorant or disinterested, but that choice is fundamentally their own.” – Isaac Chotiner

Ignorance undermines our entire culture.

When people are ignorant, candidates are more likely to lie, confident in their ability to get away with it. When the electorate is disengaged, policymakers feel less pressure to exercise good judgment, they pander to the lowest issue common denominator <which tends to be money in someone’s wallet> therefore promising more money <or better economy> … knowing that once elected the game changes.

And we need to be careful to not flippantly respond with “I just do not have time.”

Americans always make time for the things they find important.

That is culturally and sociologically how we work.

We watch sports, follow celebrities, make reality shows successful … pick whatever you want. When we want to care or make time for something … we do.

At some point we need to care about becoming more enlightened thinkers … or cults of ignorance will grind us to a halt – intellectually and tangibly in ‘lack of doing what is important.’

And while I am scared of these cults I am more likely scared of the consequences.

What do I mean? Our debates with these cults, which are actually anti-intellectual debates, grind us to a meaningless standstill.

In the end.

I will admit that I am scared … yes … scared … of the growing cult of ignorance.

The most critical issues of our society – the economy, climate change, gun violence – it seemingly matters only what you believe in.

And instead of responding upon lines of reason, on which these voices would increasingly lose a coherent argument, they respond with volume, and emotion driven under the guise of common sense.

And here we are today.

Believe what you want and shout it really loudly.

It doesn’t matter if it is true or factual … just believe it and shout.

I shake my head because it’s never been easier to get — and stay — well informed.

People just have to take some responsibility.

I am not suggesting we shouldn’t accept some pride in what knowledge we may have … but I am suggesting we are more humble in accepting the limits of what we know.

This also assumes we are confident enough in ourselves so that we do not need to denigrate others for doing what we cannot and knowing what we do not.

This also assume we accept our own ignorance as a spring board to learn more and become better.

Do I consider myself ignorant, complacent, and incompetent?

In many respects … absofrickinlutely.

But.

I also have a sense of self-awareness about it.

And that gives me hope that I can overcome my ignorance at some point.

Ignorance, complacency, and incompetence are not immutable traits.

I say this despite the fact people <attitudinally culturally> tend to ignore all sorts of things that don’t fit into what we conceptual believe to be true.

Research suggests that a paradigm shift in society don’t happen incrementally but rather in great leaps:

During the period of normal science, the failure of a result to conform to the paradigm is seen not as refuting the paradigm, but as the mistake of the researcher …therefore … as anomalous results build up, science reaches a crisis, at which point a new paradigm, which subsumes the old results along with the anomalous results into one framework, is accepted. This is termed revolutionary science.

This thought … that conceptually … at almost any time … more knowledge can negate the truth of any given idea is slightly unnerving. And it is more unnerving because I know these cults of ignorant prey on these constant movement. They seek ‘immutable truths.’

And yet we are being demanded to adjust based on the most dissonant ‘truth.’

And who the hell discerns a dissonant truth from an ignorant truth?

Yikes.

Someone smarter than I.

Regardless.

What I do know is that simply shouting shouldn’t discern truth.

I also know that a quantity of facts supporting something is more important than a minority of dissenting opinions.

I fully understand in a web based world where data is available at our fingertips that we are actually all simply being crushed by the weight of data being thrown at us.

Therefore the path of least resistance is that most people is fall back on emotion and feel good <or feel bad> factors.

“I say there is no darkness but ignorance.” – William Shakespeare

There is darkness in the truth that most of us are unable to judge our ignorance.

As psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger discovered more than a decade ago, the least competent are usually prone to overestimating their talents.

How do I <personally> find light in the darkness of ignorance?

I seek out the humble … the ones who tend to whisper their knowledge.

I tend to find them the minds that … well … matter the most.

“I consider you the most honest and truthful of men, more honest and truthful than anyone; and if they say that your mind . . . that is, that you’re sometimes afflicted in your mind, it’s unjust. I made up my mind about that, and disputed with others because the mind that matters is better in you than in any of them. It’s something, in fact, they have never dreamed of. For there are two sorts of mind: one that matters, and one that doesn’t matter.” – crime and punishment Dostoyevsky

Becoming knowledgeable.

Fighting ignorance.

We all must be accountable for ourselves. We each must take responsibility. We can make meaningful contributions to the world. We must fight the urge to join a cult of ignorance <any cult> … and I admit … that is difficult … because it is always easier to sit with those who share your opinion.

Maybe we all must listen for the whispers of truth & knowledge a little more closely.